Shooters may have had links to radical ideology

Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik are suspected of killing 14 people during a shooting in San Bernardino, California. Here is what we know about the two suspects.
USA TODAY

It has been widely reported that Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the two shooters responsible for killing 14 and wounding a score of others in the Dec. 2, 2015, attack in San Bernadino, took out a loan of $28,500 through an online peer-to-peer lending site that may have been used to pay for the guns, bullets and explosives the couple used in their attack.(Photo: None)

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — The married couple who massacred 14 people during a holiday party at a social service center fired up to 75 rounds into the frantic crowd and even planted a crude explosive device of pipe bombs before they fled the scene, police said Thursday.

Authorities said Syed R. Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 27, had amassed a huge arsenal of weapons, ammunition and explosive devices at their residence in nearby Redlands that they drew upon for their attack Wednesday. Twenty-one people also were injured; at least two remained in critical condition.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Thursday it was still too early to determine whether the shooting had its roots in terrorism. But the FBI’s National Security Division, which oversees terror cases, is deeply involved in investigating the backgrounds of the two dead suspects, a federal law enforcement official said Thursday.

Of particular interest is the suspects’ recent travel to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and Farook’s apparent contacts with at least a handful of individuals with suspected ties to radical extremism and who have been known to the FBI, said the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly on the matter.

The official cautioned that investigators have not fully examined the contents of all of the couples' electronic communications, so any suspicious messages or contacts are still under review.

Authorities have begun to piece together some key elements of the attack at the center but have not determined a motive.

"If you look at the preparation, the amount of weapons and ammunition, there was obviously a mission here," David Bowdich, assistant director of the Los Angeles FBI office, told reporters Thursday. But he added that at this early stage in the investigation it would be "irresponsible and premature to call this terrorism."

The two suspects were shot and killed hours after the initial attack during a high-speed chase with officers who traced them to their Redlands residence. Two officers were slightly injured in the encounter, but none of the wounds was life-threatening.

It was the nation's deadliest shooting since a gunman killed 26 people in Newtown, Conn., in December 2012.

San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said Thursday that each shooter was armed with a handgun and assault-style weapon. The guns were purchased legally and registered, he said. The couple wore dark tactical clothing, as well as utility vests stocked with 1,600 rounds of ammunition when they burst into the center's conference room.

Federal Bureau of Investigation agents put up a screen to block the view of onlookers as they investigate the building at the Inland Regional Center were 14 people were killed in San Bernardino, Calif.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images

Shamshad Muscati, center, gets emotional during an interfaith memorial service at the Islamic Community Center of Redlands, in Loma Linda, Calif. The memorial service was held to honor the victims of the Dec. 3 shooting rampage that killed 14 people in San Bernardino, Calif.
Jae C. Hong, AP

San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan takes a question at a press conference near the site of yesterday's mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif. A heavily armed husband and wife dressed for battle opened fire on a holiday banquet for his co-workers Wednesday, killing multiple people and seriously wounding others in a precision assault, authorities said. Hours later, they died in a shootout with police.
Chris Carlson, AP

An officer stands guard at the police perimeter in a Redlands, Calif. neighborhood where a home linked to the suspects in the San Bernardino shooting rampage is located, in the early hours of Dec. 3, 2015.
Robyn Beck, AFP/Getty Images

Officers have their weapons drawn Wednesday as they surround the vehicle believed to be driven by the suspects involved in a military-style attack that killed multiple people and wounded others at a California center that serves people with developmental disabilities, authorities said.
KTTV via AP

Two women embrace at a community center where family members are gathering to pick up survivors after a shooting rampage that killed multiple people and wounded others at a social services center in San Bernardino.
Jae C. Hong, AP

A SWAT team arrives at the scene of a shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., on Dec. 2, 2015. Police responded to reports of an active shooter at a social services facility.
Doug Saunders, Los Angeles News Group, via AP

Police found a crude, remote-controlled explosive device made up of three pipe bombs wired together that had been left in a bag at the scene. Burguan said it was not clear whether the killers failed to push the button or the device simply misfired.

Burguan said a search of the couple's home turned up 2,000 9mm rounds, more than 2500 .223-caliber rounds and “several hundred” 22 long rifle ​rounds, as well as 12 pipe bombs and tools for making more explosive devices. He said the pair had rented their black SUV several days earlier and were supposed to return it on the day of the assault.

Farook legally purchased two handguns at dealers in San Diego and Corona within the past three years, said another federal law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly. Investigators were looking more closely at the transactions involving the two assault-style rifles, which were purchased by another person who was not immediately identified.

CLOSE

Survivors of the mass shooting at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, Calif. were reunited with family after being interviewed by authorities.
Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY

Burguan said that although initial reports indicated as many as three shooters may have been involved, "we are confident now" that Farook and Malik acted alone. Farook, who was born in the United States to Pakistani parents, met Malik online and became acquainted with her in Saudi Arabia. He brought her back to the U.S. in 2014. She entered with a Pakistani passport and a visa.

The couple have a 6-month-old daughter, who was left with grandparents on the morning of the shootings.

Although the suspects' motives were unknown, police quote some witnesses as saying Farook had attended the annual holiday party, left in a fit of anger and returned with Malik.

Chris Nwadike, who worked with Farook as a restaurant inspector with the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health, said Wednesday's gathering was one of two "general education" meetings the department holds each year. The meeting was routine, in which employees receive awards and other recognition.

Nwadike said he was sitting at a table with Farook, who he knew from around the office. He said that at some point, more than 30 minutes before the shooting, he and his co-workers noticed Farook had left.

.

Nwadike said the meeting was on a 15-minute break when the shooting happened, and many participants were outside the room. Nwadike said he was in the bathroom. "If everybody was there, it could have been a total massacre," he said.

He said that he and the others in the bathroom laid down on the floor and remained there until police escorted them out of the building.

"I have not at any time noticed any sign that he would do anything like that," he said. "I can't understand why."

.

Farook's brother-in-law, Farhan Khan, said at news conference Wednesday night with the Council on American-Islamic Relations: "On behalf of my family we all are shocked. We are completely shocked and had no idea."

MASS SHOOTING IN SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.
California shooters received $28,000 just before massacre | 1:00

A source said on Tuesday that Syed Rizwan Farook had recently taken out a $28,500 loan. This loan came from an online lender and he received the money shortly before he and his wife killed 14 of his co-workers at a holiday party in San Bernardino.
USA TODAY

President Barack Obama says it's clear the two killers in the California shootings had gone down the "dark path of radicalization." Obama, speaking from the Oval office, said terrorists are turning to less complicated acts like mass shootings. (Dec.
AP

MASS SHOOTING IN SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.
San Bernardino County employees return to work | 1:21

Thousands of San Bernardino County employees are returning to work, days after a county worker and his wife opened fire on a gathering of his co-workers. Officials say they'll be increasing the number of armed security guards as well. (Dec. 7)
AP

The husband and wife who carried out the San Bernardino massacre had been radicalized and had taken part in target practice, once within days of the attack that killed 14 people, the FBI said Monday. (Dec. 7)
AP

The woman who helped her husband kill 14 people at a holiday banquet for his county co-workers pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group and its leader on Facebook using an alias, a U.S. law enforcement official said Friday. (Dec. 4)
AP

The Muslim community in the Inland Empire gathered for a vigil at the Chino Valley Islamic Center Friday to condemn the terrorist attacks that killed 14 and injured 21 others at a developmental disabilities facility in San Bernardino Wednesday (Dec.
AP

Regina Kuruppu, an employee at the Inland Regional Center, huddled beneath her desk and began to pray aloud as she heard terrified screams coming from one story below. She spoke to AP Friday about the deadly incident in San Bernardino. (Dec. 5)
AP

The Islamic State, aka ISIL or ISIS, stopped short of claiming responsibility for the attack, and there's no indication yet the suspects had direct contact with any terror groups. Video provided by Newsy
Newslook

In his weekly address, President Obama offered his condolences to the families of the victims of the San Bernardino shooting. He also urged Americans to come together to try and prevent further tragedies like this from happening.
VPC

An 18-year-old who attended the same Southern California mosque as a gunman who killed 14 people, says the gunman was a devout Muslim who showed up to pray every day before he abruptly stopped three weeks ago. (Dec. 3)
AP

MASS SHOOTING IN SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.
Resident makes memorial for San Bernardino victims and his father | 1:14

Manny Guzman of Redlands, Calif. started a memorial near the site of the San Bernardino mass shooting to honor those who were killed and his father who was shot and killed 20 years ago.
Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY

During President Obama's time in office he has found himself in the position to have to address the Nation following a mass shooting. The latest in San Bernardino, California has him hoping the nation does not think of these incidents as routine.
USA TODAY

MASS SHOOTING IN SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.
Women are not often the headline in mass killing stories | 1:23

The mass shooting in San Bernardino, California has an unusual detail, one suspect is a woman. Women are rarely the headline in these stories, however, we take a look at a few of the cases where they were.
USA TODAY

David Royster says he's trying to get in contact with a friend who was at the holiday party at Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California, where 14 people were killed in a mass shooting. Video by azcentral.com

Family members leave the building after being told their loved ones were killed in a mass shooting in San Bernardino. 14 people were killed. Police say Syed Farook and Tashreen Malik opened fire at the Inland Regional Center.
azcentral.com

President Barack Obama says it's possible the mass shooting in California was related to terrorism, but that authorities still don't know. He says it's possible it was workplace-related or that there were mixed motives. (Dec. 3)
AP

Thursday morning, aerial video showed the SUV occupied by the couple suspected of killing 14 people and wounding many more in a shooting in San Bernardino, California and police evidence markers around the scene. (Dec. 3)
AP

Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, asked for a moment of silence for the victims of the San Bernardino shooting, during the Capitol Christmas Tree lighting ceremony Wednesday evening in Washington.
Daniel Farber-Ball / USA TODAY

As many as three gunmen believed to be wearing military-style gear opened fire Wednesday at a Southern California social services center, killing at least 14 people and wounding more than a dozen others, authorities said. (Dec. 2)
AP

The San Bernardino, California chief of police says at least 14 people were killed and at least 14 more were injured in a mass shooting at a social services center. Police were still searching for as many as three gunman. (Dec. 2)
AP

Police said a man and a woman suspected of carrying out a deadly shooting in San Bernardino, California were killed in a shootout with police. A third possible suspect was being detained. A motive for the shooting has not been reported. (Dec. 2)
AP

Bloomberg's Mark Crumpton reports that there's an active shooter near Orange Show Rd. and Waterman Ave., the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said in a tweet, citing the San Bernardino Police Department.
Bloomberg